The BioWare Blog has word to expect a playable demo for Mass Effect 3 on February 14th, offering the chance to sample the upcoming RPG sequel. Here's the deal: "The demo will be available on PC, Xbox, PS3 beginning February 14, 2012. You will be playing through the opening level “Earth” which is under attack by those nasty Reapers. This version of the demo will also introduce the Mass Effect 3 co-op multiplayer mode and for the Xbox 360 players out there – Kinect functionality. Fans will be able to access tons of customization options and get enough of a peek at the story that you will be inclined to play it over and over to catch all the nuances." They also offer a FAQ with system requirements, word on early access to the multiplayer portion of the demo, and how to qualify:

What content will be included in the Mass Effect 3 demo?

There are two sections in the Mass Effect 3 demo, both included as part of a single download: The single player section includes 2 areas: the opening level featuring the Reaper attack on Earth, and a level further into the game where Shepard travels to an alien home world to seek their assistance in the war effort. This will be approximately 1 to 2 hours of content.The co-op multiplayer section includes 2 maps: Slum and Noveria. This section will be open to players who have qualified for the early multiplayer access as of Feb 14, and will then open up to all players on Feb 17.

How do I qualify to play the co-op multiplayer section before Feb 17?

The early access program for the demo’s multiplayer section begins on Feb 14, 2012To gain access to multiplayer in the demo any time between Feb 14 and when it opens up for everyone on Feb 17, a player must have met one of the following criteria: Own Battlefield 3 and have activated BF3’s Online Pass. Logging into the demo using the EA Origin Account linked to that Online Pass will automatically unlock the multiplayer section of the demo. Note that you do not have to enter a code anywhere – if you have activated your BF3 online pass, the multiplayer section of the demo will be unlocked for you when the demo goes live. Participate in an early access program that will be announced on Feb 7, 2012 – watch this site for more details.

Bhruic wrote on Jan 19, 2012, 12:09:Now that I agree with. EA has a lot of resources behind it, and they could have made Origin a lot better than it is. Had they tried to compete with Steam on features, rather than simply locking their games to it, I think they could have done so - Steam falls down in quite a few areas. Unfortunately, they haven't chosen to do so.

Although, really, comparing it to other DDs, I'm not sure it's really that much worse. I haven't used Impulse recently, but last time I did, it was pretty poor too. Steam certainly is far from perfect, but they're still head-and-shoulders above most of them.

Whatever Steam's issues are, I can't imagine EA producing anything better... ever. They just have a much more reptilian mindset about their business than Valve.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)